Breakfast Basil Eggs and…Stranger Than Fiction

This is a true story that you will have no trouble believing because, as you know, the truth is always stranger than fiction.

This is the story of how I came to be, ‘Charlie Louie’.

Breakfast Basil Eggs

When I was born in Wellington, New Zealand, I already had an older sister whose arrival had displeased my grandmother. Displeased my grandmother because the granddaughter was not named ‘Jean’ that obviously is my grandmother’s name. As well as my mother thinking her mother-in-law fell short of that honour, the name ‘Jean’ ranked towards the bottom of my mother’s list of preferred names.

Then I was born and my grandmother suffered another displeasing episode when it was announced that I had been named ‘Charlotte Louise’. To heighten the blow my mother had innocently informed her mother-in-law that they were having great difficulty in coming up with a name and one day, by a stroke of luck, they were wandering through a graveyard and saw ‘Charlotte Louise’ written on a tombstone. And so my name came from a cemetery and my grandmother didn’t think you needed to go to the dead for inspiration when the living were right in front of you.

Simmering onion, tomato and basil

Six weeks after my birth it was time for my Christening and my father thought it would be nice to take me to his parent’s town so they could be present at this wonderful and special event. It’s just that this meant a perilous three-day journey in an unreliable VW and involved shocking conditions including snow, ice and a bitter southerly. The low point would have been when the roof racks slid off the car and my parent’s possessions fell on the road only to be run-over by on-coming traffic.

But they made it to Dargaville, a town in the very north of the North Island for the all-important event only for my grandfather to announce he wouldn’t be attending because instead he was going out for a hit of golf. My grandmother then announced she also wouldn’t be attending because she ‘hated the name’ and hated the Methodist religion (she was an Anglican which she felt was vastly superior to my mother’s Methodist roots).

So the numbers were down and my mother was wondering why they hadn’t stayed at home and had the now very difficult and very disappointing and very stressful event in the local church that was a short stroll from home-sweet-home.

The Methodist minister was an elderly chap who my father thought had enjoyed a long career ‘in the cloth’ but then found out that he was actually the local butcher who’d taken up this new career in his retirement years. He was also deaf.

Crack in the eggs

As the wonderful moment of my Christening arrived we were assembled around the Font at the front of the church when a terrible noise broke out at the back of the church. It was my grandmother who’d been persuaded by a friend that this was an important event and she should not miss it. So she arrived just in time but refused to sit at the front of the church and instead slid into the back pew.

The minister took hold of me and asked very loudly, ‘We name this child?’. And my father said, ‘Charlotte Louise’. And the minister yelled out, ‘Charlie Louie, we baptise you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost’. At that moment there was a raucous cackle from the back pew as my grandmother fell about with laughter believing a mighty justice had been served.

So I entered the church as Charlotte Louise and emerged Charlie Louie.

My parents packed us all up back into the VW and decided on the way home that their next child would be born overseas.

And she was.

And her middle name is Jean.

Charlie Louie with her grandmother, Jean

And so do tell me, did you come about your name in an unusual way?

Breakfast Basil Eggs

This recipe is really good after a big night out and haven’t we all had plenty of those lately!

Breakfast Basil Eggs!

Degree of Difficulty: 2/5

Cost: I like to use organic eggs and they do cost a bit more and basil at the moment seems to be expensive. I paid $4.00 for a small bunch at Harris Farm and I think that ridiculous but still, it’s an inexpensive breakfast that’s very good for you and so much cheaper than dining in a café.

Serves: 2

2 tbspns extra virgin olive oil

1 red onion finely chopped

4 medium sized truss tomatoes roughly chopped

1 bunch basil – leaves only

4 organic eggs

Heat olive oil a small frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook for a few minutes until softened. Add tomatoes and basil leaves and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Crack eggs on top of tomato basil mixture. Cover frying pan with a lid and cook for 2 minutes for runny eggs or 4 minutes for hard eggs. Remove lid and serve.

A very funny story. My nana (on my dad’s side) told my mum that if I was named Kelly that she would not call me by that name. When I was born, Kelly was virtually unheard of. ( In this country) I think I must be about the oldest Kelly in Australia. My mum chose my name from an American TV Show (in the 60’s) called “Bachelor Father”
Love the photo of you with your grandmother.

What a great story ! Have no idea how I came to have my name (will have to ask my folks next time I see them). We chose our daughters name after reading it in book. After she was born we chose a couple of names (mainly because I was so sure I was having a boy so we had only chosen boys names before she arrived !!) and then waited a week or so to see which name she looked most like !

What a cute story! All I know that if I was to be a boy, I’d be named Larry!! I’m sure I wouldn’t have liked that!! I love this egg dish, I make something similar, eggs with tomatoes just taste fabulous!!

Well I’m sure you’re a good egg whether named Charlotte or Charlie! And I have to say these eggs do look rather good indeed!
Our first daughter went without a name until she was 10 days old as my hubby decided he suddenly hated tbe names I’d chosen, so we both wrote a list of names and the one we picked was the one that happened to be on both lists. Our youngest daughter had her name picked out about 7years before she was born… we just had to wait for her to come along. So we have both sides of the scales with our baby names.
I also don’t think I would have talked to your grandmother again, if I was your mum, she must be a very forgivi g woman

What a great story! Your poor Mother. Traveling in the WInter with a li’l one and an infant to what was sure to be a very cool reception. And your Grandmother surely did not disappoint! Love that when she finally did get her wish, the child was born overseas. Yeah, it’s a great story!

Great story, I was originally named Jody and have a number of “birth cards” that welcome Jody to the family……..my mum then changed her mind and called me Linda……..not sure where this name came from ?? Loving your tales and recipes xx

I feel for your mum – what a mother-in-law! I have a nasty, witchy one too, but after years of trying to please her I have completely given up so she doesn’t bother with us at all any more. My kids went through a stage of feeling sorry for themselves because they didn’t have the indulgent grandparents that their friends have (they never receive any gifts, cards or calls), but it is much nicer without the old biddy in our lives.
I hope you and all of your family have a wonderful, happy and safe new year!

Hi Amanda, I feel so sorry for you having such a difficult mother-in-law. And how terrible it is for your children to have a grandmother who is so disinterested in them. I hope to be one of those really over-indulging grandmothers. But, I guess if when she’s in your life she’s only causing trouble, best that she stays away.

Great story Charlie….and all the more funny ‘cos I know Dargaville. I have a good friend who lives there and have met some of the locals at various birthday parties. I didn’t realise you were NZ born. My second home. My hubs and kids NZ born.

The eggs look absolutely gorgeous! I know I will need these tomorrow morning 😉 I will make sure I have the ingredients on hand tonight, plus the panadol and a jug of water.

Great story! I was named after my mums friend. My sister Donna was nearly name DESLEY! Blah, that was a near miss 😉 and my brother would have been Trudy is he was a girl :0 Even at aged 7 I begged mum not to call him Trudy!

I loved your story, it was funny to read. The eggs look good and considering I’m reading this before breakfast, well, they look double-good if that’s even a word. No basil for me though, that particular plant evokes certain memories that are not that yummy.
Happy New Year, we’re almost in 2012! I hope you have a fantastic new beginning.

Love this story! And the picture with your grandma hehe I know when I was born my parents gave my sisters two choices Daisy or Nancy and hahaha they all agreed that Daisy was better and that’s how I got my name

Definitely going to try this recipe! My boyfriend and I love EGGS for breakfast YUM! But i have a feeling he’ll add some chorizo or bacon to your recipe… sigh he’s such a carnivore HAHAHA

Hi Daisy, I was trying hard to do a vegetarian recipe but I can see that some bacon or chorizo would add a special something to this egg dish. If my third and last born child had been a girl, she would also have been called Daisy. Instead we got Alfred, known as Alfie.

What a great story; I think you have a very cool name. This dish looks really good, I wish I had seen it earlier so I could pick up the fixings for it for tomorrow morning. We may need it! Happy New Year!

Wow, what a great and whimsical story! 😀 I didn’t come to my name by accident, but a friend of mine should have been named Nikolas when the rain dropped on the birth certificate and washed away the o, so his parents decided to take that as a sign and named him Niklas.

Your breakfast basil eggs look wonderful, this is a dish I shall recreate at home! 😀

I hope you had a good start into 2012! And thank you for commenting on my blog!

Yeah, basil seems to be ridiculously expensive at the moment and the quality, questionable (well, the ones that I’ve come across anyway – maybe I just happen to be shopping in the wrong places?). I am trying to grow my own at the moment but given previous failed attempts (they’ve all either shrivelled up and died within weeks, or got eaten by snails) and given Melbourne’s ridiculously hot weather at the moment, I wouldn’t be surprised if my basil-growing attempt fails yet again.

I’ve heard it’s very hot in Melbourne at the moment. In the 40’s? That would fry any basil. I usually try to grow my own herbs but I’m in between houses at the moment so there’s no point in starting a vegetable patch. Good luck with your patch and I hope it cools down a bit for you.

What a whimsical story and no matter what your grandmother thinks, I love your name because it’s different from the usual Sarah Jane, or Mary Anne or Norma Jean

The eggs look beautiful although I’ve never had them done this way. The calories and cholesterol are too precious so I always prefer to enjoy them straight up – poached or scrambled with bacon and toast.

That is the best story I’ve heard! Aw bless, your parents must have gone through so much trouble only for you to be baptised the wrong name! But (and don’t tell your grandmother :p) I prefer Charlotte Louise to Jean. I don’t have any funny stories to do with my name, but it being Chinese and spelt with an ‘X’ no one can pronounce and it that’s where the funny stories come out! Great breakfast eggs by the way!

LOL! My parents were having trouble with finding me a middle name. My grandmother, who had been watching ‘Les Miserables’, named me after her favourite character. Thus I came to be Jasmyne Cosette.
Great eggs by the way, a great way to serve breakfast!

That’s a great story! I’m afraid I don’t have an interesting tale about my name, but I do have two sisters and all of us have names that start with L. Your eggs look delightful. The basil and tomatoes sound delicious.

These eggs look soooo good! I just got an egg poacher for Christmas and am going through a serious egg binge. I just made these ( http://www.closetcooking.com/2011/09/mexican-baked-eggs.html ) which were outstanding! I know Mexican food isn’t as popular there as it is in the US, but you may enjoy them just the same. I actually made them for dinner and served tamales on the side – so, so good!

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Charlie Louie

Welcome to Hotly Spiced. My name is Charlie Louie and I live with my husband and three children, Archie, Arabella and Alfie and two elderly ladies, Ruby and Rosie (dachshunds), in an increasingly untidy and dilapidated Sydney eyesore.... [Read More …]